Business briefs: Bayer; Mylan

Bayer released its annual report and fourth quarter earnings today. The German drugmaker's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and special items increased 18% to €1.83 billion, besting average Bloomberg analyst estimates of €1.81 billion. The company also raised sales forecasts for 2013, estimating a 4-5% gain. Bayer said marketing new drugs will receive a greater focus this year, particularly Xarelto, the blood-thinner it sells with J&J, and Stivarga, a cancer drug for patients with rare kind of stomach tumor. Sales of Xarelto quadrupled last year to €131 million per quarter. However, settlement and legal expenses for contraceptives Yasmin and Yaz over alleged cardiovascular incidents set the drugmaker back a whopping €1.19 billion for the year.

Mylan has acquired Strides Arcolab's Indian injectable manufacturer Agila Specialites for $1.6 billion. The move will expand Mylan's presence into emerging markets like Brazil (where Agila has an antibiotics facility) and add 200 marketable products to its portfolio, leaving Mylan with a total of 700. Heather Bresch, CEO, announced the company's plan to become “a top-three global player” in injectables. Agila currently has 350 products in various stages of development, along with seven manufacturing plants. Leerink Swann analyst Jason Gerberry estimates the acquisition will add 4% to Mylan's 2014 earnings.